Christmas at Gunga's

First of all, have we discussed the fact that all her grandchildren call my mother Gunga? I am already thinking of options for my grandkids to call me. Cute options. Options that will not embarrass anyone when we are out in public. Like Grammy. Mimi. Nana. Or Kooky. I'll probably end up with the last one. It fits.

Christmas with our "big family" at Gunga's involves many beloved traditions...

cousins!!!

There are 23 children and adults living under one roof. It's pure insanity. And we love it. My mother-in-law joins us, which is really special for us to have both sides of the family celebrate together.
With this many people, there are A LOT of presents...

This year we finally broke down and had the cousins draw names. And the adults did a nice white elephant exchange. I was a little nervous about the white elephant exchange since my love language is gifts. Why did I have to get the most shallow love language? To alleviate my stress, we brought two gifts I knew I wanted so that we could try to get those if everyone else brought duds. In the end, it turned out well for most everyone. Except for my brother-in-law who ended up taking home a froofie scarf and a home decorating book. Sorry Jeff. The good news for my little gift-loving self is that Bill and I both gave each other TOMS. He got my "subtle" hint! And also gave me a pair of socks that reads "I love gifts!". It's true, I can't help myself.

Gunga always does something special for the family while we are all together. In the past it has been renting a trolley for us all to go around and look at Christmas lights. This year it was an indoor water park. We used to ring the bells for the Salvation Army. Look how far we've fallen. Instead of freezing our tushies outside of Wal-mart to serve others, we were doing this...

The final tradition I will share is our Christmas Eve tradition. We all go to a Christmas Eve service. We come home and the kids open one gift. Every year it is jammies. And every year we try to pretend that they aren't getting jammies. But the real tradition starts after the kids are in bed. My sisters and I (and sometimes a husband or two, NEVER my own) stay up until 5am getting everything ready for Christmas Day. Every year I swear I will have my act together and we won't stay up that late. But guess what happens the next year? It's crazy, but I cherish those late night fudge-eating, last minute wrapping, toy-twistie-wire removing memories. This is how my brother-in-law felt about it...

That's just about how each of my sisters and I looked on Christmas night after our whopping 3 hours of sleep. I don't have any pictures of that, of course.

How about this New Year's resolution? Next year we will only stay up until 4am.

Great expectations

Our family has two Christmas celebrations.
One at home just for us.

And another with our "big family" (as my kids call it)
at my mom's house.
I had envisioned our Christmas at home with great expectations.
You know where this is going right?
Every time I have great expectations of an incredible blog post
prepare for something to tank.
This year it was my vision for the kids stockings...


they might look kind of cute, but wait for it...


We don't stuff them at home,
but I had ordered a special gift to have in a
fourth unmarked stocking for our little baby to come.
I am in love with this little blabla doll called Coco.
I knew she would look so cute peeking out over the stocking
and that my kids would think it was a really fun surprise.
The problem is I ordered the medium sized doll
instead of the small one.
(Measurements are math. And I don't do math.)
So this Amazon-like doll, crammed into the stocking
wasn't "peeking out" at all.

Instead she was creepily looming large which robbed her
of all potential cuteness.
And robbed me of my potential warm fuzzy.
Along with my fabulous blog post.
Though it did provide me with a little chuckle.
Not to be confused with Chuckie, an even more creepy doll.
I still love her, but I think she may
need to be exchanged for the smaller size.

Joy to the world!

I'm officially wishing you a Merry Christmas
at 12:03am on the December 26th.
Oops. I'm running late, as usual.
Hope your Christmas was filled with joy
and the wonders of His love!

These are a few of my favorite things...

I'm not quite sure how this song came to be known as a Christmas song. They show the movie "The Sound of Music" every Christmas day. Am I missing something? Is it a Christmas movie? I thought it was a WWII movie. Well, in any case, I will take advantage of the song in writing this post on a few of MY favorite things. (If Oprah can do it, so can I.)

1) My Seven jeans. I could live in them. Actually I do live in them. As I write this I am on day 4 without being washed ( a little perfume goes a long way). They are SO comfie! And for me, Miss Pear Shaped USA, to find jeans she loves is quite a feat indeed. And to find them at TJ Maxx is the icing on the cake!

2) The song "Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)" by Beyonce. I can't relate to the lyrics, but the beat is irresistible and I promise the song, once in your head, will not soon depart. It's the second song on my playlist if you want to partake (enjoy, Jocelyn!).

3) TOMS shoes. I don't actually own a pair yet, but hopefully my own personal Santa got my subtle hint. The subtle hint was an email that read, "Hey babe, I want these for Christmas" with a link. Even though my post bunion surgery directives prohibit such shoes, I don't care because TOMS are going to Ethiopia with shoes this year and I want to be a part of it!

4) Heated seats in the car. We've been having frigid temperatures and a warm booty does my heart good. I turned it on for my friend Amy once without her knowing and she said "Wait a minute, did I just pee my pants?". Yep, it feels that good.

5) The Office. Enough said.

6) My Yankee Candle SoHo Living candle in cinnamon sparkle. I love scented candles, but it is hard for me to find the right scent. I like sweet and spicy. Too spicy and I feel repelled. Too sweet and I feel hungry. This one is just right.

7) Of course, these are a few of my favorite favorite things...

What are a few of your favorite things?

Snow days and Sick days

We've been walking in a winter wonderland for the past several days. I don't mind the bitter cold as much when it's pretty out. I took the older kids sledding on Tuesday. I use the word "took" loosely here. Here's how it came about:
Tate: Mom, will you take us sledding?
Me: Umm, uh...
Tate: You can just drive us to that hill on 20th and then sit in the car and watch us.
Me: Okay, then. Sure.
He knows me. I love to look at the snow. I don't want to make contact.

There hasn't been an official snow day yet, though it may get bad enough this week to warrant one on Friday. I love snow days because that means my kids are H-O-M-E and I am in my jammies.

You know what other days I like? Sick days. I know I'm sick to enjoy my kids being sick, but I miss them while they are at school. And as long as the sick doesn't involve anything life-threatening or with chunks in it, I'm cool with that. Tate had a "sick" day on Monday. You may have guessed by the quotation marks that the true nature of the sickness was questionable. He had a headache and was lethargic. Last week I had a headache and was lethargic, so I thought maybe there was some virus on the loose. By noon, I was pretty sure the technical name for this "sickness" was a little word called tired. He had stayed up until 1:13am finishing a book two nights before and it took a toll on him.

Was I upset with him for staying up so late to read? Nope. I do the same thing when I read a novel. That's why I am only allowed to read 2 novels a year, tops. I feel compelled to finish it within 48 hours of starting it. I may be a wee bit obsessive. So I cut the boy some slack.

And the other thing is HE IS READING A BOOK!! AND LOVING IT!! We've tried everything to try to encourage a love for reading, including resorting to paying him (his love language) a penny per page. Even that tactic didn't have staying power. But he has found the "Warrior" series and suddenly he's a bookworm.

Like mother, like son?

O, come let us adore him?

Our students had a Christmas party for which the theme was to come dressed as your favorite Christmas character, like from a movie. We decided to go, along with our staff interns, as a rather unconventional nativity scene. Beware: the following pictures are not for the faint of heart...

In case you are having trouble understanding what you are seeing, let me define roles. Daley and Becky (interns) along with Tate are the three wise men. Matt (intern) is an angel. Jack and I are Mary and Joseph. And, yes, Bill is the baby Jesus.

Pause for dramatic effect.

I realize that he and I look more like a couple at a toga party. That was not intentional. I also realize that this could seem sacreligous. But let me say in my defense that it was my husband's idea. Everyone knows that I would do almost anything for a laugh, but not my Bill. He is the most unsacreligous person on the planet, right? So I'm banking on Bill's piety and sense of judgment on this one. That and God having a sense of humor.

Below is a second shot of our dysfunctional manger scene including Miss Em in her costume. She really wanted to be Santa. Forcing her to be a christian character didn't seem very Christ-like, so Santa she was. I figured we were already pretty "out there" in our depiction, so why not let Santa in on the action?

I want our Christmas to be meaningful and memorable. This experience definitely fell in the memorable category. Meaningful? Not so much.

A Tale of Two Jacks

One of my favorite parenting moments happened in the summer. We had a dear friends 10 year old son over and I was asking him what his favorite thing was. I kind of meant like toys or hobbies, but he answered "I'm going to have to say...Christianity."

As I was still lost in the sweetness of the moment, my little Jack asked, "Christianity? What's that?" Then shrugging said "Never heard of it." I had to laugh.

But the little guy redeemed himself at school yesterday. Mind you, my kids go to public school. A little school we love. As I was walking into the school to volunteer Jack's class was out for recess. His sweet teacher called me over to relay an interaction they had just had.

She told the class that after recess they would be getting ready to go to the school Chorus Concert. I think one of the kids asked what it was going to be about. And my Jackie said "Well, it better be about Jesus because that's what Christmas is really about!" Rock on buddy, rock on!

I may not want to waste money, but I guess I have no problems wasting time

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What I did with 3 kids in school...

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More wasting time...

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I can't help myself...

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the most wonderful time of the year?

Every year I want advent to be a special time for our family of preparing to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world. And every year it's more like a frenzied whirlwind of yuletide chaos. But this year, I found a fun Advent wreath at Target to assist our family in a nightly time of focusing our hearts and minds on Jesus.

My plan was to not only have a little treat in each day, but a verse or activity or prayer. I was so excited about the idea as I began brainstorming ideas to include. I even imagined the post I would do about our family's delightful advent season. Then I actually, consciously thought, "Wait. Maybe I better not do a post about it, but save it instead to publish as a book someday." Seriously? As if there aren't 116 books out there on advent devotions for kids? But such was my frame of mind. But wait, there's more. As I considered both my book and my post, I thought (again consciously), "Well, I'll have to be careful because I want to be sure not to put anyone under the pile with my ideas."

Well I need not have worried about that. Not only would no one be put under the pile by the way these advent devotions have been going in my family, any book I would write would be a pile of doggie doo! The book I would be qualified to write would be titled "How Advent Devotions Can Cause You to Declare Temporary Insanity". I was forlorn by the lack of appreciation my children had for my pearls of wisdom. How did I turn a family time intended to focus on Christ into something that was all about me???? Believe me, I'm an expert. I was distraught by the fact that they were far more interested in the jelly bellies than the discussion about preparing our hearts for Christmas. Imagine that: children loving candy!

But most of all, I am saddened by the ugliness in my own heart. Thank you Jesus that you came to rescue me. I know I need it. Maybe that is the best way for me to prepare for celebrating his birth: to recognize my need for a Savior and thank Him lavishly for His mercy toward me. The one who plans the family devotions for her kids, but fails to realize while doing so that she needs it more than anyone.

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy..." Titus 3:4,5

My husband keeps sending me Dave Ramsey emails and videos as a not-so-subtle hint. Apparently there is some kind of economic crisis going on. I try not to think about it because I like happy thoughts . But I do get that regardless of the country's financial situation, we are in full-time Christian work and though it is incredibly satisfying, it's not a get-rich scheme. At least, it better not be. So, I will attempt to make my man (and Dave Ramsey) proud this holiday season.

First, I started "saving money" by going shopping on Black Friday. The honest truth is that I do this as much for the adventure of it as for the bargains. Funny how any other day of the year I have to practically be dragged out of bed, but the day after Thanksgiving I hop out of bed at 4am with no trouble at all. It's such a fun time to be with my sisters. Now my older nieces have joined in on the action. We appreciate having them help to "box out" when needed. Actually, all the shoppers I encountered were very pleasant this year. I guess everyone was enjoying the bond of consumerism and the patriotism of trying to stimulate the economy. Below is a picture of my kids in their $4 track suits I scored from Wal-Mart. It's a good thing they were so cheap since they attract dog hair like crazy.

Second I promise, in the name of good stewardship, not to beg for a new Christmas tree. Our hand-me-down tree is rather pathetic. Let's use the euphemism "quirky". It's crooked and only some of the pre-lit lights actually live up to their name. It would be perfect in a home in "Who-ville". But I'm sure Dave Ramsey doesn't think I need a new tree. And I know my husband doesn't. So I will be content and remember that a quirky tree is probably the best tree for this crazy family.

Third, I will refuse to listen to the voice that tells me to buy more for my kids. Sometimes it is just a whisper and other times it is a strong, convincing voice not dissimilar to the guy who does the ShamWow commercials. My love language is gifts. I love giving them almost as much as I love getting them. Just being honest. This reality makes it hard for me at gift-giving occasions to ignore the desire to shower my kids with gifts and revel in the joy that brings them. I'm not saying I'm going to become a scrooge. I'm just attempting to tame the beast. If I succeed, I don't think it will only be my husband who thanks me. Maybe someday my kids will as well. I hope they grow to treasure Jesus more than anything. That's what I want for myself too!

Now if I could just stop wasting money by washing loads twice because I've let them sit and mold in the washing machine for days on end.

Shine on Froggy Sparkles!

Another day in November, another birthday in our house.

This time it's our very own Little Miss Sunshine.
She hums around the house often in her own little universe.
Before she was born, our oldest wanted to name her Froggy Sparkles.
Little did we know that his name idea would capture her essence.
Quirky. Free-spirited. Happy. Sparkly.
It just fits...
See what I mean.

I love having a daughter.
She views shopping as sport, as do I.
She loves playing barbies and babies and wedding.
(She and her best friend are actually
"walking down the aisle"as I write this.)
She wants to work at Payless shoes when she grows up.
We get each other.
More than loving having a daughter,
I love having her as my daughter.
She has her own funky sense of style.
She has a knack for details that I long for.
She used to remind me that I said I was going to discipline her later.
She wised up on that one.
She is expressive and emotive and creative.
We decided to enroll her in a musical theater class to
put all that drama to good use.
Now I say to her, "Save it for drama class!"
and it's not just another mommy saying. It's for real!

Our Divine Miss Em:
she's our sweet and sassy girl!
For years she's asked for a sister.

Happy birthday girl, you're gonna get your wish at last!

get ready, get set...WAIT!

We said goodbye to an old friend this week: our dossier.

That little stinker represents a lot of work, frustration, and prayers.
After anxiously awaiting being able to send it off,
I was kind of sad to say good-bye.
That's why I took it back from the Fed Ex lady to take a picture of it.
She gave me the "What are you, a freak??" look that I've
become rather acumstomed to in life.
I'm pretty sure only families that are adopting take photos of paperwork.
I guess spies do it too.
(At least Sydney Bristow did.)
We don't have ultrasound pictures or a baby moving inside of us.
One thing we do have is paperwork.
Blessed paperwork.
This marks the end of the first phase of our adoption.
This marks the end of the time when we can actually be doing
something to bring our baby home.
That's had a comforting sense of purpose.
It also marks the beginning of waiting.
We are officially on the wait list now.
Number 28 on the girl list.
Okay, technically that is also last on the list.
But we are on the list, for which I am thankful.
I want to see the purpose in this time of waiting too.
I know I'll get impatient.
It might feel insufferably long at times.
But I hope I see this as a time of prayer, preparation and sanctification.
God is working out His purpose for our family.

I know that You can do all things and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
Job 42:2

Queen of (our) hearts

It is widely believed, by those who know her, that my mother is the most adorable person on the planet. This was confirmed in the 1940's when she was a contestant on the radio show "Queen for a day". Think American Idol, back in the day. She charmed the judges with her sparkling personality and radiant smile. And she won. At 80, she is still winning hearts today.

To celebrate her and this great occasion, my sisters and I planned a surprise party. Amazingly enough, we pulled it off. Unfortunately, I'm afraid what this tells us it that her daughters and friends are pretty good liars.

What a joy to have a tangible way to show love to this woman who has personified love for me. She and my father had a beautiful story of faithful love. Like "The Notebook" only it was real, not fiction. She loves her family fiercely. And she pours herself out in love toward everyone she comes in contact with. She is leaving a legacy of love because she loves extravagantly. And when I grow up, I want to be just like her. Besides all that, she's just plain cute.
See for yourself...

Here she is with her birthday buddy. Every year she tells him he was the
best birthday present she has ever gotten. He eats that up!

Below is a picture from her "Queen for a Day" appearance in 1946.
Long live the Queen!

Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.
Proverbs 17:6

Who doesn't love a Tater Tot?

11 years ago today I got a new name.

Mom.
Here's the guy who first called me that...

My Tater Tot is 11 today. How can that be? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was in laboring in the hospital for 24 hours only to end up having a c-section? Tate was worth it all. The pain. The sleeplessness. Even the embarrassment of consistently telling people I had a "circumcision" instead of a "c-section". They both begin with "c". Easy mistake, right?

I remember back then how I really wanted to have a boy, but I was concerned about what he would be like from age 8-15. They all seemed so awkward and unfunny and smelly. How wrong I was! I thoroughly enjoy this kid! I love his questions. I appreciate his humor. I am amazed by his creativity. What a joy to know who he is now and watch who he is becoming.

Here he is trying to generate one of his favorite words: profit.

He is my voice of reason. When I was considering buying Em a Jonas Brothers magazine he asked "Do you really want to encourage that?" Good point, pal.

He is my sentimental boy. Do we really need to save the bottle cap (Bud Light, no less) that you found on the beach in San Diego??? Yep.

He is my deliverer of one-liners. Mom: "We're going to have you guys start using your own money to give people presents". Tate: "Uh, don't be expecting very nice presents then, Mom".

He is a delight.
So now I'm a fan of boys age 8-15.
At least this 11 year old one.
Happy birthday, pal. I love you and I like you too!

P.S. Tate loves that he shares his birthday with my beloved Mother. She'll get her own post. You don't have to share birthdays in blog land.

My Favorite

We have another birthday in our house.

It's the guy who says "Easy there, Mrs. Kollar" when
I start to get a little worked up.
(I need his steadiness.)
And the guy whose extensive vocabulary includes words like "pithy",
"sundry", and "conundrum" in every day conversation.
(I like his brains.)
He is also the guy who has had such a close relationship with God
that I've shamefully found myself being a little jealous of it sometimes.
(I love his sweet and sincere devotion to Christ.)
Same guy who is my very own McDreamy,
without all the hair.


I happen to be one of those people who believes

that if God intends for you to marry,
He has one person in mind for you to spend your life with.
I like the one I got.
Happy Birthday, babe.
42 looks good on you.
You're still my favorite!

.

For those of you who have read my blog in the past, I feel the need to catch you up on a few things.

First, I lied. It isn't easy being green. Yes I have all sorts of cute bags to keep me from using plastic at the grocery store. But do I EVER remember to take them to the store with me? NO! They sit in my garage, still cute but not serving their intended purpose. I just needed to clear my conscience on that one.

Secondly, you may remember the issue of the spoons. Here's what went down: I marched into the school with my head held high and 21 spoons (and one fork) in my purse. I wasn't even that humiliated as I fessed up to several people there, including the principal. Her comment was, "So that's where they've all been going. We thought kids were throwing them away." But here's the kicker...I miss them. We eat a lot of cereal and yogurt and ice cream around here and those little guys were coming in handy. No one said obeying the law was easy.

I don't really have a thirdly, but I think it seems awkward to only have two things, so I need to make one up real quick. I had an "aha" moment today. It hit me that it really doesn't work to rountinely sleep in until 8am and then help 3 kids get out of the door for school by 8:40am. We've been making it work, but it really isn't the best situation for minimizing chaos. I know I'm a little slow that this is just now hitting me, but you just have to know that I'm not a "jump out of bed" kind of person. That and I've been staying up late blogging. I'm pretty sure if you are reading this, you understand that. So right here and now I am choosing to wake up earlier, for the good of my family...tomorrow I'll start with 7:45am. No need to go to extremes!

I'm not the most politically-minded person you will ever meet.
But as you can read, I voted today.
The place was PACKED OUT and it gave me chills.
As I stood in line with"my fellow Americans",
I realized that I had no idea who anyone was voting for.
Our filled-in ovals didn't define any of us.
No matter how this historic election shakes down,
I got to have my say.
We all get to have our say.
I am grateful to live in a place where I get to wear a little sticker that says
"I voted today".
I know I take this for granted a lot of the time.
At least I won't today.

Halloween 101

Everyone does it differently, but I myself have a few rules concerning this season of the year that seem to order my fall universe, so to speak. They are as follows:

1) It is ideal to take ones children to a charming pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. If this is not feasible, then take them to an affordable one (i.e. FREE) that is not scenic and don't let them buy anything. Instead let them pick out pumpkins from bins in front of Wal-Mart at 2 for $6. Be sure to take their pictures at the pumpkin patch, making it look as scenic as possible, because pictures in the Wal-mart parking lot are never aesthetically pleasing.

2) When passing out Halloween candy it is preferable to have two different bowls of candy, one with "good" candy and one with "bad" candy. The "good" candy is reserved for cute little trick or treaters while the "bad" candy is for anyone who is 15, dressed in normal clothes, and carrying a king sized pillow case. Also for anyone with a costume that bleeds. I define "good" candy as anything involving chocolate and "bad" candy can be something like nasty cheap bubble gum or leftovers from last year.

3) Mommy is a nicer mommy when she has at least one Pumpkin Spice latte or Frap per week. This number would be much higher if paying $4.17 a pop didn't sting so bad. The good news is that they are now making a Pumpkin Spice creamer at the grocery store. That'll work.

4) If you, like me, really love the look of candles illuminating pumpkins and the idea of carving pumpkins as a family, but you are opposed to slimy pumpkin guts and the possibility of one of your children impaling themselves, there are other festive options. I convinced my children that making our own caramel apples (using a "fancy"store bought kit) would be every bit the adventure of pumpkin carving. Nevermind that my oldest doesn't even like caramel and my youngest thought it was some sort of trick that I then told him an apple was his dessert. But popsicles sticks are not sharp, so I felt much better about the whole thing. One of these days I really am going to move past my fears...there is always next year.

5) If you really wanted to dress up for Halloween as Sarah Palin (or at least as Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin), but were too tired, don't worry. Just put on your costume the next day and put a picture up on your blog. It will make you feel better even if you only stayed in costume for 5 minutes and you got mad at your husband because you didn't like the way he was taking the picture. Sorry babe.

6) If your kids came home with heavy bags of loot but there was not ONE Almond Joy in the bunch and you forgot to wake up early the day after to go out and buy multiple bags of Almond Joy's at 50% off, don't despair. They are totally worth paying full price for.

7) Whenever possible spend $4.99 total on your children's costumes. If you can't even sew on a button, try hand-me-downs, marginal creativity, and low expectations...

The Football Player, "T-Diddy", and the Astronaut

The Astronaut made it to 4 houses before he needed a wardrobe change due to an "annoying" space helmet. My sisters explanation that Astronauts need those to stay alive didn't cut it. So after the wardrobe change, Shadow Ranger appeared...

Maybe we should have done a potty break at the same time?

38 going on 13

We saw "it" this week and "it did not disappoint. Yes, we are High School Musical people. I would have wanted to see it even if my children were not motivated. They just made it possible for me to not be embarrassed while purchasing just one ticket for a 38 year old woman. I still was slightly embarrassed when I got teary eyed during the movie, but only my sister knew that and she had her own moist eyes to deal with. But I don't care: I love these movies! I love them so much that we went directly from the theater to buy the soundtrack. Now the songs are echoing in my mind while I do jazz hands all over the house.

"All I wanna do is be with you, be with you..."

*Sigh*

Lest you TOTALLY mock me, I'm kind of joking about the sigh part...kind of.

She reads!

Since I'm a reader and all now, I would love to recommend a book to you that has been a source of both angst and delight in my relationship with God.

Whiter Than Snow

meditations on sin and mercy
by Paul David Tripp

The sub title may hint to why it has brought some needed angst in my life as I have had to own up to the fact that my greatest problems in life do not exist outside of me, but within me. I don't think there is any arena that I am more aware of this in my life than in my mothering.

This book is neither a traditional Christian book nor a devotional, but 52 meditations on sin and mercy that are intended to sing the tune of grace in our lives. This fall I have felt at times like my world is spinning out of control. But God has used this book to bring a bit of grounding in my life about the freedom and grace found in Him.

On the lighter side, I thoroughly enjoyed Meredith Efken's

SAHM I Am

Where Stay-at-Home Moms Connect

This novel about an email loop of stay-at-home moms is very clever, while also being encouraging. I found myself laughing out loud at times (that pretty much never happens while God is raking my soul through the above book) and identifying with so many things in the story. Especially since I have joined the wacky world of blogging.

One last recommendation I have for you is...

I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. Just because I am reading actual books with covers and meaningful words inside doesn't me that I still don't love me some People! In fact, I just got a 3 months free subscription through Toys R Us. Let's hope that doesn't put the kabosh on the whole reading real books gig I've got going on. I kind of like it.

P.S. Don't "Click to Look Inside" above. I'm pretty sure nothing will happen.

Random facts rule the day

There are games in blogland? I love it! My friends Angela and Eryn tagged me and so now I am stressing about what actually qualifies as a random/weird fact. I almost looked up the word random in the dictionary to try and get some clarification. This is all ironic since I am one of the most random/weird people in the universe. Actually I prefer the word "quirky".

I guess that putting that much thought into this activity is the opposite of random. So here goes...
1. I have a co-dependant relationship with my body pillow. It started during my second pregnancy, but now has become a permanent fixture in our marriage bed and in my heart. My husband tolerates it(referring to the body pillow as the third party in our marriage) and has resided himself to only get 1/3 of the bed.

2. I love all things 80's. Actually listening to 80's music is almost a way for me to worship God because I am just celebrating down to my inner core. Most people don't consider "Come on Eileen" to be like a worship song, but I'm not most people.

3. I love fall for several reasons, but let's just highlight one. Three words: Pumpkin Spice Latte! (from Starbucks, of course)

4. I've never colored my hair. I will probably need to get going on that soon since the grays are starting to colonize on the crown of my head.

5. I listen to Radio Disney even when my kids aren't in the car with me. I'll admit, I like the Jonas Brothers!

6. I'm not much of a reader, unless People magazine qualifies. Ironic since I was an English major. I'd just rather watch the movie! But I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. I'm actually reading 3 books right now.

7. In my definition of random, at least one of the facts should be embarrassing, thus this last fact. I tend to sweat a lot at night. I think I sweat more than my husband. Now that's just wrong. It's significant enough that one morning my daughter came in to cuddle with me and I started to scoot over to let her lie down on my side. She said "No, thanks. I'll go to Daddy's side. I don't want to be near the sweaty Mommy smell." Lovely.

So, now I'm tagging Kristin, Hilary, Jenna, Mindee, Beth, Jana and Chris, Kala, and Julie. Have fun!

Someone had a birthday...

Can you guess who it is?
His Dad refers to him simply as "Action",
which suits him well.

He has one speed: fast. And one volume: loud.
Passion is his middle name.

He is...
1 part Sanjaya
2 parts Will Ferrell
And 3 parts Energizer Bunny.
Throw in a little William Wallace
And a lotta Jon Bon Jovi.
Add personality out the wazoo
and a tender heart beneath it all.
Put it all together and you've got a little Jack.

My baby (for now) is six.
Here he is, in all his shaggy Jack-ness...

in "action", of course!

I'm pretty sure this was not accidental

His favorite birthday gift was an amp for his electric guitar.
If you are thinking right now, "Are you insane?!",
the answer is "yes". But, here's the deal...
we are nurturing this rock star thing and
plan on taking the rock star gravy train as far as it will go.

Seriously, a verse I claim for him is Psalm 33:3,
"Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully,
and shout for joy."

Happy birthday, dear boy! You are loved!